Obama touts 'We Can’t Wait' - Shuster: 'Apparently we can wait' - States take the funding lead - THUD advancing

Text Size

TODAY AT A GLANCE: There’s no votes in Congress; the Senate picks up where it left off on THUD on Monday. ARTBA holds a PPP conference downtown, the Senate Aerospace Caucus has a talk on drones in the national airspace system and House T&I’s special panel holds a hearing in New York on urban freight issues.

DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN: Well, that was anticlimactic. With a major U.S. port as the backdrop and his newly minted transportation secretary in the audience, President Barack Obama wound up a jobs and infrastructure pitch on Thursday that barely made it across the mound. Obama’s address, part of a series of speeches around the country on the economy, was focused mostly on the success of part of his “We Can’t Wait” initiative from last year that expedited federal permitting and cut red tape for projects at several ports, including Jacksonville’s. But he left out any hint of the details that infrastructure-boosters have been eager to hear from the president — namely, how to pay for the hundreds of billions of dollars needed for a long-term investment. That made for yet another notch on a belt full of letdowns for transportation advocates. Kathryn has the story: http://politi.co/1bogSZi

Shuster’s soured: Obama might be a big fan of the “We Can’t Wait” initiative — but T&I Chairman Bill Shuster sure isn’t. The Pennsylvanian said in a statement that Obama “talked about finalizing this project review by April 2013. However, that date has come and gone, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers still has not completed the necessary reviews to send a request to Congress for approval of this project. Apparently we can wait.”

STATES’ RIGHTS: Leading Democrats trying to pinpoint a long-term fix for the nation’s infrastructure funding woes may not have found a solution, but they have settled on where to look: Annapolis, Richmond, Cheyenne and Montpelier. The liberal embrace of federalism comes more than a year before the Highway Trust Fund runs out of cash — a familiar situation for transportation-watchers who have been through several trust fund bailouts over the past few years. Don’t miss Kevin’s Pro story: http://politico.pro/14NqiKi

IS IT REALLY FRIDAY? Thanks for reading POLITICO's Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on trains, planes and automobiles. Today’s happy birthday goes to the Americans with Disabilities Act, which President George H.W. Bush signed into law 23 years ago. Please be in touch with tips, love letters and hate mail: asnider@politico.com. And follow me on Twitter: @AdamKSnider.

SENATE SLOW-WALKS THUD: The Senate’s been working on the THUD bill this week — but it might be hard to tell by watching on C-SPAN. Wednesday got hijacked by the student loan bill, and Thursday wasn’t much better. There was one vote on a procedural motion and a few amendments adopted, but the chamber was in morning business by 4:30 p.m. “We will hopefully finish this soon next week,” Sen. Patty Murray said, noting that there are “a few issues” that will be worked on over the weekend. Keep reading for new amendments, several that were approved and one that was rejected...

Some new amendments of note: There’s surely more coming next week, but until then you can peruse some amendments filed to the bill:

-Kelly Ayotte to limit EAS eligibility to airports at least 90 miles away from the closest medium- or large-hub airport (http://politico.pro/1bnfiXR);

-Susan Collins asking appropriators to revise subcommittee allocations to comply with the Budget Control Act before Oct. 1 (http://politico.pro/11hkpSQ); and

-John Hoeven expressing the “sense of Congress” that DOT should continue working on regulations for drones in the national airspace (http://politico.pro/13IOBad).

Approved amendments: Senators signed off on a package of four amendments to the bill Thursday, including Mark Udall’s proposal to have the FRA look at regulations on trains using horns at road crossings (http://politico.pro/145Kyk6) and John McCain’s mandate that DOT outline a cybersecurity plan before it can use the funds (http://politico.pro/11gR36R).

Rejected: Senators voted 56-42 to table a motion from Sen. Pat Toomey to send the bill back to Appropriations with orders to trim it from $54 billion to $45.5 billion to comply with the Budget Control Act.

Xpress yourself: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid met with the White House this week to talk about the now-stalled RRIF loan for the XpressWest project in Nevada. Reid said on Thursday that he’s a fan of high-speed rail but won’t use the THUD bill to try to force action on the project. DOT recently announced it has suspended a review of the project’s application for a federal loan over problems complying with “Buy America” provisions.

Over in the House: Members start work on the THUD bill Tuesday — the rule has already been approved so they can dive right into the bill, with members offering amendments as the measure is read aloud. Minority Whip Steny Hoyer said Democrats are “not going to vote” for it in its current form.

**A message from POWERJobs: New jobs on our radar this week: Director, Fare Payments at METRO, Systems Engineer at The Boeing Company and Government Affairs Director at National Ready Mixed Concrete Association. Interested? Apply to these positions and more at POWERJobs.com; finally, a career site made for YOU!**

BOXER’S NO PROCRASTINATOR: Sen. Barbara Boxer is launching a push to find a permanent fix for the Highway Trust Fund's looming shortfalls, but she wouldn't delve into any specific funding plans. “We're here sounding a wake-up call,” Boxer told reporters at a press conference in the EPW hearing room. “I don't want to wait until, you know, midnight. I want to get ready for this. It's coming September 2014.” She also, along with Commerce head Jay Rockefeller and Banking Chair Tim Johnson, sent a “Dear Colleague” letter (http://1.usa.gov/18Fwree) arguing that 3 million jobs would be at risk if Congress fails to find stable funding fix. They also released a state-by-state breakdown (http://1.usa.gov/14aY4Da) of how many jobs would be lost.

OSHKOSH, B’GOSH: Rep. Tom Petri, whose district includes Oshkosh, wrote Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx to urge that he pay for air traffic controllers for the Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture event in the Wisconsin town. “I understand the budget constraints all of us are working under, but the sudden decision to no longer support the EAA as has always been done in the past is misguided and shortsighted,” Petri wrote. The letter goes to the public today but Pros can get it now: http://politico.pro/1bnj2bK

IN TODAY’S FEDERAL REGISTER — Honeywell ELT airworthiness directive: The FAA puts out an airworthiness directive requiring all U.S. airlines operating the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to either inspect or completely remove the Honeywell emergency locator transmitter that investigators suspect was involved in a fire at Heathrow Airport last week. Read the AD: http://1.usa.gov/12mJChf

YOUR WEEKEND ON METRO: There’s only one track closure this weekend, on the Orange Line between Vienna and Ballston. The Red Line has some train frequency adjustments but the Green, Yellow and Blue lines will run on a normal weekend schedule. Deets from WMATA: http://bit.ly/1dXCYxV

NORTON GETS HIGHWAYS GIG: House T&I Democrats have elected D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton to replace Peter DeFazio as their top member on the highways and transit panel. Andre Carson of Indiana will take Norton's spot on the economic development panel.

MT POLL — Reauthorization battles: What will the most contentious fights in next year’s transportation bill be? Funding, truck weights, the distribution formula and transit’s share of gas tax dollars are all good places to start. There’s lots of ways for things to go awry — email if your answer’s not on there. Vote before Sunday at noon: http://bit.ly/15Y5X3G

THE AUTOBAHN (SPEED READ)

- Texas legislators return Monday to work on transportation bill to avoid a third special session called by Gov. Rick Perry. The Texas Tribune: http://bit.ly/1aM4FtR

T&I’S NEW LOOK: The House Transportation Committee’s Twitter (http://bit.ly/18Frdz7) and Facebook (http://on.fb.me/19kDDvM) pages are sporting a new committee logo. But that’s not all — a tweet from the committee says to “check back soon” for a brand new website.

THE COUNTDOWN: DOT funding and passenger rail policy both run out in 67 days. Surface transportation policy is up in 432 days and FAA policy in 797 days. The mid-term elections are in 476 days.

CABOOSE — Brooklyn rails: Your MT host recently had a blast in New York City, including some time in Brooklyn, home to the New York Transit Museum. The borough has a rich rail history — and here’s the proof. A 1918 map of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit System, which came to be when independent rail companies joined forces. Atlantic Cities has the map and a history lesson: http://bit.ly/146VXat

**A message from POWERJobs: Tap into the power of POWERJOBS for the newest job opportunities in the Washington area from the area’s top employers, including Metro, The Boeing Company, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Evolver. Powered by names you trust — POLITICO, WTOP, WJLA/ABC-TV, NewsChannel 8 and Federal News Radio- POWERJOBS is the ultimate career site with more than 2 million job searches and nearly 17,000 applications submittedthis year so far. Connect through Facebook or LinkedIn, search jobs by industry and set up job-specific email alerts using POWERJobs.com, the site for Washington’s top talent.**